Replies

First, there are historical records of Jews persecuting Christians (or inciting Romans to do it). But you will dismiss any such argument as antisemitic. We have interacted in the past, and I enjoyed those discussions. I think I said this then and easily repeat this now. You posts were well-reasoned, and this was one of the reasons why.

Where has your ability to reason gone? Need I tell you that there is not chance whatsoever to win an argument by telling a person what he WILL do? Need I tell you that this is contrary to the very foundation of the Western thought because you deprive the person of free will? Yet you write:

But you will dismiss any such argument as antisemitic.

Not only I would not do so in such a case, I have never done so in my life, including whatever "life" I had on FR. In fact, you will find that when I do suspect a person of prejudice, I argue against what was said, the expressed prejudice. If it is a mistake or unfortunate choice of words, the reply clarifies everything. The prejudiced person usually insist on and reiterated his prejudice, in which case I may call that person so. I actually reserve a very strong accusation of anti-Semitism to most arrogant expressions of prejudice. I am far from being 20 years of age and have a record in life. I am not defending myself, of course, merely explaining. To attack me so without any foundation on your part is unfair in the very least.

Second - to claim this "unrelenting Christian persecutions of Jews" is a nasty slur. It would have been a slur had I been not referring to the record. From the post-Nicene resolutions and Papal decrees; to the enslavement of Jews in Spain in VII century; to the most catastrophic expulsion of Jews from Spain by Isabella the Catholic in 1492; to the countless auto-da-fe; to the expulsion from England and France in XXIII centuries (Jews have not been seen in England for four centuries after that, so not much persecution in that period); to Martin Luther's summons to burn the synagogues and kill the Jews; to the Ukrainian hero Khmelnitsky's raid on Poland, during which he murdered 180,000 of his fellow Ukrainian Jews --- much like the Crusaders liberated Europe from many fellow Jews on their way to Jerusalem, bragging of walking on occasion knee-high in blood (Khmelnitsky's thugs would open the womb of a pregnant Jewish woman and sow in shut a live cat causing the agonizing death); to laws of Massachusetts prohibiting residence of any Jew in the state; to East-European pogroms, often during the Easter week.

I am referring to the libel that Jews use Christian blood to make matzo (which originated in England, the most enlightened one when it comes to the Inquisition, for instance), to the enticements by prominent Church leaders and by the Church documents. There are a few countries where persecution was historically week and only sporadic --- Holland, for instance.

I am usually hasty to add that, throughout all times, there were true Christian souls with strong and pure hearts that not only did not have any prejudice themselves but even stood up for the Jews when those were unjustly attacked. Just yesterday, I wrote, in response to LarryReid, whom the existence of Jews appears to bother a lot. When he, apparently thinking that the whole world is like he is, claimed that Poles dislike Jews a lot, I was offended --- for the Poles. I wrote then, and am glad to repeat now, that there were literally thousand of Catholic Poles during the Holocaust that protected their fellow citizens of Jewish faith, risking invariably their own lives. Several thousand, in fact, died doing so. We remember them with deep gratitude.

What I was referring to, in sum is the posture of the Church as expressed not necessarily by all of its members but by leaders. To suggest that this was a slur is preposterous.

I have impression that you are influenced by your hatred.

This sentence left me flabbergasted first and then made me smile --- because of its absurdity. You will not find a single post or sentence that would indicate hatred. There were several times in my life, in fact, when I would be better off if I could hate. I am not trying to say that I am nice: I just never understood that emotion.

Now, I gave you respect of replying at some length. This is much more than you extended to me by merely throwing two accusation without any support (even if I deserved it, is that your standard of behavior?) Given that you were driven by emption that seems awfully familiar, I am not asking you to reply. It would be nice, however, if you were to ask yourself, what is that in you that allows you to cast a stone so easily on your fellow human being?